


The First Move

by lucybeee



Category: Fruits Basket, Fruits Basket (Anime 2019), Fruits Basket - Takaya Natsuki (Manga)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Young Love, and oblivious babies too, but also very cute babies, our two dense babies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:41:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25635244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucybeee/pseuds/lucybeee
Summary: "One of them needed to 'make the first move'? What did that even mean?"Kyoru fluff I thought of for no reason.
Relationships: Honda Tohru/Sohma Kyou
Comments: 5
Kudos: 137





	The First Move

**Author's Note:**

> Should I be finishing up my multi-chapter fic? Yes. Am I writing random Kyoru one-shots instead? Also yes. I hope you enjoy, though. 💕

This wasn't the first time Tohru had been approached by a boy from her class. It wasn't the first time she'd been slipped a note that asked her to meet a boy somewhere at lunch, or after school, or during a passing period.

This boy was definitely the politest, though.

Instead of standing too close to her for comfort, eyes boring down on her as a confession of love spilled from his lips, this boy respected her space. He kept his distance. His eye contact was steady, but not burning. He looked almost embarrassed that he was talking to her in the first place. (Really, Tohru thought that _she_ was the one who should be embarrassed - he was being so nice to her, and she honestly didn't even know his name.)

If she were going to accept any boy's offer to go on a date, it would have been him. It should have been him. She could feel his kind heart, and the happiness that radiated from him in waves. But she still said no.

"I'm just really busy with work and school right now, and well…"

The boy smiled politely, nodding and shoving his hands into his pockets. His cheeks lit up, belying his otherwise unaffected demeanor.

"Yeah, I get it." As he turned to head off down the hall, he tossed Tohru a last-minute look over his shoulder. "You're really hard to get alone, by the way," he said, laughing in a way that implied he was conflicted about the meaning behind that statement. "It's like you've got bodyguards."

Tohru knew exactly who he was talking about, of course - Hana-chan, Uo-chan, Kyo, and Yuki. The four people who could _never_ know that this brief, secret hallway meeting had taken place.

Because if they did, she'd never hear the end of it.

They really were like bodyguards, in a sense. One of them always had an eye on Tohru to make sure she was safe and happy. She appreciated it greatly, of course, but it was also a little annoying to be doted on so much sometimes. She wasn't six years old. No matter how innocent and naive everyone thought she was, Tohru was confident in her ability to do certain things on her own. Things like talk to boys.

However…

Hana-chan and Uo-chan would probably refute that statement, since she'd shot down every boy who'd approached her over the past year. It wasn't a great success rate, as far as dating went. She really was busy with work and school, though. Graduation was approaching more rapidly than she liked to acknowledge, and there was a lot to do.

"Hey," a voice behind her called, shaking her from her thoughts. Tohru turned. A tall boy with bright orange hair and matching eyes was approaching her. For some reason, her heart skipped a beat, like it always did when he was near. She forced herself to ignore it, like she always did.

"Hi, Kyo-kun!"

"What were you talking to Ryuuji for?"

_Oh no_.

He'd seen.

"O-oh, is that his name?" Tohru asked awkwardly. "He just had a question about the math homework from last night."

A horrible lie. On top of the fact that Tohru couldn't tell even the smallest white lie to begin with, it was a horrible story. It was no secret that Tohru wasn't exactly a math-whiz. Kyo knew better than anyone that no one in their right mind would approach Tohru for help with algebra.

"Yeah...sure," Kyo replied, but it was obvious that he didn't believe her.

Tohru felt her cheeks heat up, the warmth increasing in intensity until she was sure she'd caught on fire. "U-uh, um...are you ready for lunch? It's lunch time!" she said, much too loudly for the situation, before grabbing Kyo's arm and pulling him off toward the courtyard where their group usually ate.

Yuki, Uo-chan, and Hana-chan were already sitting on the grass under an oak tree. Hana and Uo were trading items from their bento boxes, but looked up from their exchange at the sound of Tohru and Kyo approaching. Uo-chan cocked her head to the side and raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, Tohru. Why's your face so red?"

"M-my…?" Tohru stammered nervously.

"And you and Carrots showed up late, but at exactly the same time. Oh, no way, were you two _finally_ off hooking up somewhere?" she teased.

"Eh?!" Kyo and Tohru yelped in unison. Hanajima snickered.

"Don't laugh like you know that's what happened, Wave Girl!" Kyo shouted at her, his face now a shade of red that competed with his bright hair.

"Well, isn't it?" Hana-chan asked, a smirk gracing her features.

"N-no!" Tohru let go of Kyo's arm and stepped as far away from him as possible.

"Well you don't have to look so disgusted," Kyo huffed, plopping himself down on the grass.

"Oh, Kyo-kun, I wasn't...I'm not…" She couldn't come up with the words to describe what she was feeling, but she knew it wasn't disgust.

Kyo ignored her as he pulled his lunch out of his schoolbag, face still red. Eventually, she stopped talking and knelt down on the grass, sure to keep plenty of distance between herself and Kyo.

"If you really wanna know," Kyo said as he broke apart a pair of disposable chopsticks, "I found her talking to that Ryuuji kid."

"Oh?" Yuki asked. He'd been quietly watching the situation unfold in mild amusement, but apparently the mention of Ryuuji's name was enough to make him finally speak up. "He's the president of the gardening club. I see him a lot because of student council."

"Oh, yeah?" Uo asked, leaning forward, interest clearly piquing. "What's the deal with him? Is he a good guy? Does he like our Tohru, here?"

"He's very nice, and smart. He hasn't said anything to me, but I wouldn't be surprised if he likes Honda-san. Their personalities are very similar."

Tohru was tuning their conversation out at this point, willing the ground to open around her and swallow her up into a dark abyss so she could escape this embarrassment.

She stole a quick glance at Kyo. His face had mostly returned to its normal color, but he was still avoiding interacting with Tohru, instead picking at the chicken and rice in his bento box half-heartedly. She'd have to apologize to him later, she knew. Her awkwardness had caused trouble for him _again_. Embarrassed him _again._ When was she going to stop doing that?

Tohru sighed to herself and opened her own bento. In her peripheral vision, she saw Kyo finally shift toward her, mouth open like he was about to say something. Whatever that _something_ was going to be was cut off by Uo-chan nudging Tohru's knee.

"Hey, you listening?" she asked. "What did Ryuuji want?"

Was there really any point in pretending anymore? They'd pretty much figured it out for themselves, already. Besides...an odd, possessive voice had begun creeping up into the back of her mind, setting off sparks of an idea. An idea that was completely stupid and irrational, but that she felt forced to carry out nonetheless.

"He...asked me if I'd want to go out with him sometime."

She looked over at Kyo, careful to be subtle about it, checking for any sort of reaction. His jaw visibly tightened for a moment, but he recovered quickly and kept chewing on his lunch. Yuki, Hana, and Uo, however, stared at her with their mouths agape.

"What?!" Uo shrieked. From next to her, Hana patted her knee to tell her to quiet down.

"What did you say to him, Tohru-kun?" Hana-chan asked.

"Well, I'm too busy with school and work to go out with anyone right now, so..."

Hana, Uo, and Yuki all exchanged a look, one that Tohru couldn't quite comprehend the reason for.

"W-what is it?" she asked.

"Tohru...this is the _least_ busy you've been in a long time," Uo pointed out.

"Eh?"

"You've been taking fewer shifts at work," Yuki said slowly, watching Tohru to gauge her reaction. "And we have hardly any homework right now. You've been spending a lot of time at the house."

They were right. She was only working three days a week, at most. And she _had_ found herself with a lot of extra time at the house, which she'd struggled to find ways to fill. So why had she said that to Ryuuji? Was it just a canned response, a statement that came out involuntarily to avoid the truth? But then...what _was_ the truth?

Tohru made fists around the bottom hem of her skirt. What was this feeling bubbling up inside her chest? She wasn't quite sure, but it was making her uncomfortable, making it hard to breathe, to think, to speak.

Suddenly, Yuki, Hana, and Uo exchanged an ambiguous look again before Yuki shifted his gaze over to Kyo. Still confused, Tohru looked in Kyo's direction, as well. Feeling everyone's eyes on him, Kyo looked up from his bento, swallowing before snapping, "Why're you all staring at me?"

"Oh, no reason," Uo said, a smirk creeping across her cheeks. Yuki and Hana nodded in agreement and went back to eating their lunches.

Tohru shook her head slightly, trying to clear away the odd emotion lingering within her. Then, the warning bell rang. Everyone started packing up their lunches. Tohru looked down at the box in her lap, realizing she hadn't even touched it. She wasn't hungry anymore, anyway.

Afternoon classes were difficult for Tohru. She was never exactly a star student, but she was having even more difficulty concentrating than usual. She couldn't help but fidget in her seat, tap her pencil against her notebook, wring her hands under her desk. That feeling in her chest was still there. She hated it. She thought she might suffocate.

Miraculously, she survived.

Yuki needed to stay after school to attend a student council meeting, so Tohru and Kyo were left to walk home alone. Tohru trailed behind him, eyes trained on the ground, watching his orange Converse scrape against the pavement.

"Hey," Kyo said suddenly, stopping in front of her. Tohru nearly ran into his back, but managed to catch herself, narrowly avoiding a transformation fiasco.

"Ah...yes?"

Kyo inhaled deeply. Words weren't his strong suit. He was probably considering his next move very carefully. Finally, he continued. "Remember what I said a while ago? On the roof?"

Tohru scanned her memory for a moment before nodding. "When I find someone, you'll be here to help me out," she said softly, repeating the words Kyo had uttered on the rooftop of the house that night. She realized, now, looking back on it, that that was the first time she'd felt this uncomfortable heaviness around her heart. She didn't understand. Not at all.

"Yeah," Kyo confirmed, assuring her that they were thinking of the same moment. "Well...that offer still stands. Ya know...if you wanna go out with Ryuuji or whatever."

"I don't," Tohru responded immediately. Kyo turned to her, studying her face for a moment before nodding once and walking on ahead again.

She really didn't. She was at least sure of that much.

By the next morning, Tohru had managed to calm herself down. There was still a sting near her heart, but the pain had lessened considerably. She was able to focus during morning classes, and when it was lunch time, she let her friends know that she was going to run to the bathroom and then meet them outside. At the sink, washing her hands, a girl that she vaguely recognized stepped up to the sink next to her. Tohru smiled politely, trying to remember the girl's name. Ueda, it was Ueda. When had she become so bad with names?

Ueda pulled her out of her thoughts by smiling and saying, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Hm? Oh, yes, of course."

"Kyo Sohma...you're good friends with him, right?"

"I, uh...yes, we're close."

"You'd know the answer to this, then...is he single?"

Tohru felt herself stiffen, though she didn't know why. It was a simple yes or no question, one she did indeed know the answer to. All she had to do was open her mouth and say it. Whatever Ueda's reason for asking, it was none of her business.

"Yes, he is."

"Oh," Ueda said, then hummed and raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised.

_It's none of your business,_ Tohru reminded herself.

She couldn't stop herself before the words came flowing out, though.

"Uh, w-why are you asking?"

Ueda shrugged and made her way over to the paper towel machine, Tohru close behind.

"My friend asked him out on the school trip, and he was pretty harsh about turning her down. Since then, she's wondered if it was because he was dating _you_. But I guess that's not the case."

"Oh...no, it's not. We're just friends."

Why did her lungs clench as she said that?

Ueda smiled, but instead of being friendly, it looked like she almost felt bad for Tohru. But why?

"Mm, I don't know about _that_. I think one of you just needs to make the first move. See you later, Honda-san."

As Ueda left the bathroom, Tohru stood there quietly for a moment, processing everything that had just been said.

There was that tight feeling in her chest again. _Why_?

_Why, why, why?_

And one of them needed to "make the first move"? What did that even mean?

Tohru didn't understand any of this. Not in the slightest.

All she knew that she was feeling odd again, this time the pain in her chest accompanied by a swirling stomach. She wasn't sure she could eat, but she made her way outside to meet her friends anyway. After all, they'd worry if she didn't, and that was the last thing she wanted.

After school, Kyo and Tohru were again left to walk home alone. The mood was lighter today, at least on Kyo's end. He made small talk with her, and she listened politely, nodding and smiling at the right times, but she was still internally struggling too much to be a truly active participant in the conversation.

No one had noticed anything odd about Tohru at lunch. Or, none of them had said anything, that is. Kyo had definitely looked at her a bit more than usual. Tohru had gotten used to him practically reading her mind, and knew that no matter how normal she acted, Kyo would eventually pick up on the fact that something was wrong. He hadn't said anything _yet_ , but she knew it would be coming. And, as if she weren't already feeling weird enough all day, Tohru had gone to see Yuki in the student council room after school, planning on asking what he'd like for dinner once he got home, but she'd abandoned the idea the minute she saw that he was talking to Ryuuji.

Nope.

Too much. Not today.

She'd turned on her heel and literally run away at full speed.

For the second time that day, Tohru was jolted out of her own headspace by a voice. "Hey," Kyo said, reaching over and gently rapping his knuckles against her forehead. The gesture had, at some point, transformed from being one of frustration to one of affection, though Tohru couldn't pinpoint the exact moment that had happened. No matter when it had shifted, it was sort of comforting now, and Tohru could feel her shoulders relax a bit at his touch.

"Y-yes?"

"What's wrong?" he asked softly. His eyes were narrowed slightly, concern written across his face. He was worried about her. She knew that he could tell something was wrong. He always could.

Kyo was always so gentle with her, too. And _only_ her. Recently, whenever he was around Tohru, his sensitive side had started to come out more and more. He was still snippy and feisty when they were with Yuki, or with Uo and Hana. But when they were alone together, the bite left his voice. He became more touchy, smiled more.

_One of you just needs to make the first move…_

Oh.

_Oh._

Did he…?

At the completely absurd idea that Kyo might have feelings for her, the aching in her chest was replaced by a lightness. She didn't know how to describe it, but it was a thousand times less painful than the previous weight. It was sort of pleasant, even.

Then...did she…?

This whole time, had she been turning people down because…?

Tohru inhaled sharply, then looked at the ground, cheeks red.

"W-what is it?" Kyo prompted, clearly a bit nervous because of her awkward reaction to his original question.

"Nothing," Tohru said softly. She summoned her courage and reached out, taking his hand in hers. He didn't seem to mind. He even gave her hand a light squeeze. Tohru couldn't help but notice the fireworks that went off in her mind at the more intimate physical contact, and she wondered if he felt anything even remotely similar.

She tugged on his hand, pulling him in closer. He took a stumbling step forward, appearing slightly panicked. "T-tohru, what are you…?"

She knew what he was worried about, but she wasn't stupid enough to hug him in public. Nonetheless, she was craving closeness. When did she start thinking like this, really? When did she first start seeking him out any time she entered a room? Start sneaking extra looks at him for absolutely no reason? Or start feeling her heart flutter whenever he said her name?

Inhaling a deep breath to help maintain her willpower, Tohru put her free hand on his chest, careful to keep some distance between them as she leaned her forehead against his shoulder.

"Seriously, what's the matter?" Kyo sputtered nervously, his body stiff against her sudden touch.

"Nothing," she lied. "Nothing. Just...let me stay here for a minute, okay? Please?"

After a moment of hesitation, Kyo reached up with his one empty hand and put it on the back of her head before beginning to stroke her hair softly. She tried to ignore the warm feeling that flooded over her. She knew now that she'd have to tell him what was wrong eventually, and eventually tell him how she felt. She knew she'd lose something in the process. Something precious. But maybe...what she stood to gain was even more precious.

She didn't want to think about it right now. Instead, she just pushed her forehead harder into his shoulder, closed her eyes, and fisted the front of his school-uniform.

"Okay," he said softly. "Okay."

**Author's Note:**

> Furuba social medias: @riceballcatfb on Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr


End file.
